A/N: So, it turns out when I rewatch GG, I still get fic ideas sometimes, so that's cool :) Recently, I've been revisiting Season 1, and so, Rory/Jess isn't really possible, BUT I do get major Luke/Lorelai inspiration from it, hence this fic, which was born out of a rewatch of 'Rory's Birthday Parties'. Specifically, Emily's comments to Lorelai about her and Luke possibly dating, and also Emily finding out about Lorelai breaking her leg 3 years pre-canon were what triggered the idea, plus a Lorelai quote from the Pilot, obviously ;)
Shout out to the always excellent jordana60 who sent me a lovely PM the other day, which then reminded me this fic existed and ought to be shared :)
Disclaimer: All recognisable characters from Gilmore Girls belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino and other folks who aren't me.
Luke Danes, Coffee Angel
When Rory came barrelling into the diner alone, breathing too hard, Luke was immediately concerned. She was a kid that was by no means built for physical activity, but that usually meant she just didn't do a whole lot of running. The fact she had been going at such a pace, and was also by herself, gave him pause for thought. Thirteen was probably old enough to be out alone in a place like Stars Hollow, but it was rare to see Rory without Lorelai.
"Everything okay?" he asked warily as she approached the counter, hands gripping the edge as she tried to get her breath back.
"Sure. I'm fine," she insisted, finally hitching herself up onto a stool. "Okay, so I need to ask you about take-out. Maybe delivery also? Danishes, definitely, and coffee. I mean, I know there are to-go cups, but that's not going to cut it. Maybe a flask? Do you sell coffee by the flask? Maybe if I brought one from home... Oh, I should've thought of that before!" she complained, slamming her hand into her forehead.
The rambling he was used to, from her and her mother both, but Luke had a feeling this was more than the usual quick-fire talk of a Gilmore girl. Rory was upset about something and he planned on knowing what that something was.
"Rory, what's going on?" he asked her slowly, getting her to focus. "Where's your mom?"
"She had an accident."
"What?!" Luke asked too loudly, a freezing in his blood and a sick feeling in his stomach.
"Oh, nothing serious," Rory insisted fast. "Well, kind of serious, I guess, but-"
"Is she okay? Is she in the hospital?"
"Yes, and no, but she was," Rory carefully explained. "See, she fell in yoga and broke her leg, but she's fine. She has a cast now. Also crutches, which are fine for around the house, but obviously, she can't drive, and town square is too far for her, especially in this cold, icy weather..."
"Okay, okay." Luke felt like he could breathe again now he knew Lorelai wasn't too badly hurt. A broken leg wasn't exactly great, but it was non-life threatening and she had been dealt with at the hospital and everything. It was just some mobility issues that she had to deal with now, something that was clearly freaking out Rory more than a little, poor kid. "So, let's get you set up here first."
Turning away, he poured Rory a weak coffee, determined as he was not to feed her bad habit any more than was absolutely necessary, then he got her a doughnut too and set both down on the counter in front of her. "Eat, drink," he instructed her, not unkindly. "You seem like you need it."
"But Mom-"
"We will take care of your mom, I promise," Luke assured her, "but first, eat, drink," he repeated, mock glaring at her.
Rory smiled, dutifully picking up the cup with one hand and the doughnut with the other. "Thanks, Luke."
"You're welcome," he told her, assuring her he would right back as he moved down the counter to deal with a couple of other customers.
When he got back, all of a minute or two later, the doughnut was gone and so was most of the coffee from Rory's cup.
"I do feel better for that," she admitted, "but I'm still so worried about Mom. She's going to be home all day by herself while I'm in school and she never likes to ask for help. At least, not from anyone but me. I guess if I could explain to the principal..."
"Rory, take a breath," Luke urged her, waiting as she did as he asked. "Okay, you need to stop worrying so much. I will go over to your house and make sure your mom is okay. I promise, Lorelai will not suffer while you are in school, I'll make sure of it."
A couple more deep breaths and then the biggest grin took over Rory's pretty little face.
"You know, you're a really good person, Luke. I know some people think you're all grumpy and mean, and sometimes, I'm pretty sure that's what you want them to think, but I know better," she said, nodding her head definitely.
The compliment made him smile like an idiot and he knew it, but Luke couldn't mind it too much. There was nothing much he wouldn't endure for the Gilmore girls.
"Go to school," he told Rory, mock-sternly. "Your mother wouldn't want to know you were late on account of her."
Checking her watch, Rory seemed to realise all at once just how close she was coming to tardiness. A second later, she was waving her arm in a wild goodbye and then she was gone, with further thanks that Luke just heard before the door clanged shut behind her.
Letting out a sigh, he shook his head, smiling yet.
"You're welcome," he told the empty space where she had been moments before.
When Rory had offered to take time off from school to look after her, Lorelai had been beyond touched. After all, she knew how very much the learning meant to her daughter. Not that she would ever allow her kid to skip school just to fetch and carry for her. It was only a broken leg and Lorelai had been so sure it would be easy enough to deal with, especially around the house. Turned out maybe not so much.
For forty-five minutes she had tried to summon the energy to drag herself to the bathroom. She had been back from that trip for ten minutes already and she was still feeling out of shape from the effort. A knock on the front door made her want to cry, knowing she was going to have to get up again and go see who was there. Until she reminded herself this was Stars Hollow in the middle of the morning.
"Come in!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, twice before the person who had been knocking actually followed the instruction.
"You know, you really should make sure you know who's there before you call 'come in' like that," said Luke, wearing one of his severest looks as he appeared in her eyeline. "I could've been anybody."
"Anybody like who?" Lorelai frowned and shook her head. "This is Stars Hollow. Not exactly known for violent criminals and scary weirdoes. Even our best weirdoes aren't the terrifying kind."
"You just never know," said Luke with a look.
It was sweet that he cared, of course, but Lorelai couldn't really imagine a scenario where anybody but a friend or neighbour would be knocking on her door. It just hadn't ever happened.
"If it makes you feel better, if a bad guy ever comes in, I promise to whack him with this cast," she said, lifting her injured leg very slightly. "Trust me, that oughta do it."
Even that slight movement made her wince a little. Everything got stiff with the sitting still, but moving was such a struggle, she resisted the urge to try as much as she could.
"Are you okay?" Luke checked then. "I mean, does it hurt much?"
"No, not since they put the cast on," she admitted. "Just itches sometimes."
"Don't stick a pencil down there" said Luke, almost as if it were a reflex - Lorelai was sure she was staring at him with the widest eyes, but it did the trick because he went on to explain. "I broke my arm once, had a cast that itched. I stuck a pencil in there, the pencil broke off and... well, it wasn't good."
Lorelai nodded in understanding. "Duly noted. I promise, no pencils in the cast."
He nodded back at her but said no more, just stood there with a large and as yet unexplained box in his hands. Lorelai would've asked how he even knew she was laid up, but that would be Rory's doing. No doubt she made the usual trip to the diner on her way to school this morning and filled Luke in, but that still didn't entirely explain the box. Lorelai was about to ask, when he suddenly came to life, like a robot switched on without warning.
"Uh, so I brought you some supplies. Doughnuts, Danishes, a flask of coffee, since you seem so determined that it's better than anything you can make at home."
He rolled his eyes when he said it, putting the box down carefully on the coffee table, within easy reach of Lorelai. Her fingers walked through paper bags and styrofoam containers, knowing there was much more in the box than just what he said. The coffee was such a sweet thought too. She was genuinely touched.
"Luke, I... I'm in awe. This is so great of you, thank you so much," she told him, one hand over her heart, she felt it all that deeply.
"No problem," he told her, shifting awkwardly in place and adjusting his hat. "There's a couple of things you can put in the microwave later too. I know you like take-out, but just in case, you know?"
Lorelai shook her head, feeling so overwhelmed, she almost didn't have words. That almost never happened to her. As great as Luke always was, she hadn't realised he could be quite this thoughtful.
"You are so sweet," she told him, before looking up at his face, "or some other, more appropriately butch descriptor," she added fast. "Sorry, sweet is not at all masculine, but it is really cool of you to be so thoughtful."
She smiled up at Luke and he smiled down at her. It could have been quite the moment, she supposed, if she didn't have a broken leg and Luke wasn't Luke. After all, they were just friends. Really good friends, of course, but Luke would never look at her that way, Lorelai was so sure. Well, mostly sure, most of the time.
"Uh, so I should go," he said then, tilting his head towards the door, "unless you need anything else?"
"Nope, thanks, but I'm good," she assured him, showing off how easy she could get to most everything she needed, thanks to Rory's well-planned set-up. "Got my TV remote, music, magazines, and now, the magic elixir that is your precious, precious coffee," she said, grinning widely as she all but hugged the flask he had brought along for her. "Plus, if I need help, I can call Babette and Maury, Sookie, Miss Patty, a whole list of people. You know how it is with this town. Everybody wants to be so helpful," she said, smiling yet.
"Hey, put me on that list of yours, would you?" said Luke, meeting her gaze. "Anything you need, just call me."
He was so serious about it, Lorelai was almost unsure how to take it. In a moment, she shook off the strange feeling it evoked in her, sure she was overthinking. Too many painkillers in the past twenty-four hours, that was what it was.
"Consider yourself listed," she told him, nodding once.
That seemed to bring on a smile the likes of which was rarely seen on the face of Luke Danes. It made Lorelai smile back at him in a moment of... well, honestly, she wasn't quite sure what kind of moment it was, but it definitely was one, strange as that seemed.
"So, yeah, I should get back to the diner," he insisted, pointing towards the door and taking a step in that direction.
"Sure, sure," Lorelai agreed. "Well, thanks again, for all this," she gestured at the box on the table, once again amazed by the crazy amount of thoughtfulness from Luke.
"No problem," he insisted, on the way to the door.
Lorelai didn't realise he hadn't left yet until he called for her attention. It was awkward turning right around to look at him back there, but she made the effort, in the circumstances.
"If you want anything from the diner, for dinner, breakfast, whatever, just call," he insisted. "I'll get it over here for you."
"Oh, you don't have to do that," she told him, shaking her head.
"It's no problem, honestly."
He meant it. More than that, he really wanted a chance to help her. Lorelai wasn't so dumb as to miss a chance for diner delivery. Besides, she wouldn't offend Luke for the world.
"Then I might just take you up on that," she said happily. "Thanks again, Luke."
"You're welcome, Lorelai," he told her with a smile. "Take care of yourself."
"Always do," she assured him, raising one hand in a wave before he disappeared out of the door.
Yes, she always did take care of herself, Lorelai thought, because she always felt like she had to, but she had to admit, it was nice to know there was someone else around that wanted so badly to help with that too.
"Luke Danes," she said to herself, opening up the flask, pouring out a generous cup of steaming java, and taking a big sip. "Hmm, angel. You've definitely got wings, baby."